Election officials say the president has an unassailable lead but the opposition vows to contest the result.

The Venezuelan opposition dismissed the CNE’s announcement as fraudulent and promised to challenge the result.

Over the past 10 years, 7.8 million people have fled Venezuela because of the economic and political crisis into which the country was plunged under the Maduro Administration.

Polls conducted in the run-up to the election suggest that exodus could now increase, with one poll suggesting a third of the population would emigrate.

  • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was among those expressing his scepticism after the result was announced by the National Electoral Council, a body which is dominated by government loyalists.

  • The UK Foreign Office also expressed concern over the results

  • The Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, also said he found the result “hard to believe”.

  • Uruguay’s president said of the Maduro government: “They were going to ‘win’ regardless of the actual results.”

In a congratulatory message, President Vladimir Putin told Mr Maduro: “Remember, you are always a welcome guest on Russian soil.”

    •  memfree   ( @memfree@beehaw.org ) OPEnglish
      9•1 month ago

      Yeah, not only did they prevent the actual opposition leader from running, they’ve really made the vote count look suspicious. From APnews :

      The official results came as a shock to opposition members who had celebrated, online and outside a few voting centers, what they believed was a landslide victory for González.

      “I’m so happy,” said Merling Fernández, a 31-year-old bank employee, as a representative for the opposition campaign walked out of one voting center in a working class neighborhood of Caracas to announce results showing González more than doubled Maduro’s vote count. Dozens standing nearby erupted in an impromptu rendition of the national anthem.

      Authorities delayed releasing the results from each of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide, promising only to do so in the “coming hours,” hampering attempts to verify the results.

      After finally claiming to have won, Maduro accused unidentified foreign enemies of trying to hack the voting system.

      •  MagicShel   ( @MagicShel@programming.dev ) 
        4•1 month ago

        I don’t really know anything about the situation there. I don’t know if you know the answers but I have questions.

        Realistically, is there any hope for democracy to prevail? What is the likelihood the military would step in? Not that military coups are a good thing, either. It sounds like people are more keen to escape than to rise up.

        Edit: assuming the exit polls aren’t the thing being manipulated.

        •  Che Banana   ( @The_Che_Banana@beehaw.org ) 
          6•1 month ago

          No chance since Chavez took power. My wife was part of Amnesty International cou ti g bodies during his first couple attemp, before he was released from jail and won his first election.

          And thats why you don’t vote for populist dictator wannabes, because this is what you get.